


The Rules for Lovers

by Arwen_Evenstar



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars - The Last Jedi - Fandom, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: AU, Abduction, Adventure, Angst, Dark Rey, Desert Island, F/M, Light Side, Redemption, Smut, Tension, Wedding, dark side
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-10-02 20:52:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17270933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arwen_Evenstar/pseuds/Arwen_Evenstar
Summary: The Jedi Oracle has spoken. It is a rule.Ben Solo, of the First Family, must be joined with Rey Kenobi, of the Second Family. For as Dark rises, Light must meet it, if Balance is to be restored.But in a time of crime syndicates and nests, driven by Force singularities like Snoke, Rey believes there is more to her destiny than to support Ben Solo's rise to head of the First Family.There is no other option but to break the rules.Based on The Rules For Lovers, a song by Richard Walter's - https://youtu.be/9NdK-1aQZP4





	The Rules for Lovers

 

ONE

 

“Please tell me that isn’t true.”

Rey looked at her foster father in shock, the grip on her lightsaber loosening. She felt the hilt slip from her hand and immediately centered herself again, both hands now gripping her weapon tightly.

Her 20th birthday had started well. Breakfast with their father, with her brother Finn making those delicious pancakes with honey ordered specially from Naboo. It was so hard to come by these days, the trade wars taking container ships left and right. She felt lucky to be able to enjoy such a treat.

After that, an hour of studying the Jedi texts she almost knew by heart now. _Fear and anger are the path of the Darkside. Love and compassion are the path of the Light_. She mumbled the sacred rule every time she  remembered her time in the desert, before she was rescued by Master Luke and taken into the Academy.

Finally, her most favourite class: lightsaber fencing. But all had come to an abrupt halt when her father, Obi-Jin Kenobi, had dropped the news she was dreading to hear.

“You must be joined. The Force has spoken.” Obi-Jin said, assuming the position, waiting for her attack.

Since she had left the Academy and arrived on Stewjon, her evolution had been unprecedented, just as her adoptive father had foreseen. Much like his great-uncle, Obi-Wan, he always had an eye for detecting Force singularities, and Rey was very much one.

He remembered how his heart leapt, and how the Force sang in it, when he first saw that tattered, scared little girl, arriving to the Academy. And how immediately he wanted nothing else but to protect her, having lost his own daughter and wife to sand sickness. Later, he would bring in Finn as well, a lost boy taken from one of Snoke’s syndicate nests.

Singularities were coveted items by the crime lords, Snoke being the worst of them all. Being a rogue singularity himself, his darkness had spread through the Galaxy.

Snoke had even succeeded in trapping Benjamin Skywalker, Leia Organa’s son, during an Academy expedition to Tatooine. Ben had been rescued some time later, in the same nest Finn had come from, and brought back to the Light. But Obi-Jin knew he was tainted by the experience. Even today, people would shrink every time he stepped into a room. Obi-Jin looked at Rey, concerned of the challenge ahead.

That was why he had to remove her from the Academy, for her safety, and opted to teach her in his home planet, with Master Luke’s approval. He would make her an asset to the Five Families; she would enter the Galactic Corps and help bring Snoke’s Crime Syndicates down. That was the plan.

A plan interrupted by a Force event.

Leia Organa had always been their general, and rightly so. Luke’s counterpart in everything. Where Luke was raw strength, Leia was wisdom and so First General of the Galactic Corps was a natural fit to the head of the First Family - the Skywalkers, the first singularities. Leia had oversight over every operation: from dismantling black market weapon networks, to snuffing out the crime nests, to mediation between the Families.

News of her passing was a hard blow for everyone. All Jedi felt the shift in the Force, Obi-Jin and Rey included. But Ben had took the hardest blow of all. Now orphan of mother and father, he had lost the only link that connected him to the Light side and was rapidly falling into Snoke’s predatory shadow. In desperation, Luke had consulted with the Jedi Oracle and the news had shook him.

Obi-Jin sighed, seeing the panic in Rey’s eyes.

“To restore Balance to the Force, you have to be joined with Ben. The Oracle has spoken. It is the rule.”

Rey squeezed the lightsaber, a red glow of anger spreading over her face. The old Jedi could feel the tension in her, like gravity itself was disturbed, the power shifting around her. Suddenly, she motioned forward, screaming and the lightsabers - hers blue, his green - clashed with a thunderous clap.

“Why him? Why does it have to be him?” she panted, “All these years spent training, to be a Jedi. All of that, gone?” Rey screamed at her father, her eyes wet with anger, her white teeth glistening. Obi-Jin grunted, and quickly moved left, twirling and deflecting her strike. Rey stumbled forward, but curved her saber to the left, trying to hit Obi-Jin, unsuccessfully.

“Rey, focus! You cannot let your feelings interfere with your duty.”

“My duty? The Force wants me joined with someone I despise?! Have you forgotten how he use to stalk me at the Academy? Just because he was First Family and I...a scavenger, a nobody.”

Just like Ben was forever tinged with Darkness, so Rey was forever resentful of her abandonment in Jakku. Her parents, or someone, had left her in one of Unkar Plutts scavenger stations, to be sold or worse. Obi-Jin blinked and forced himself to relieve the tension of his shoulders, abandoning the lesson.

“I remember you two being very competitive, even if he was five years your senior. But you crossed paths seldomly in what, two, three years before he was…”

Rey flinched, looking at Obi-Jin’s hesitation. The same name crossed between them, unspoken, but there was a sense of dread even by thinking about him. Obi-Jin’s eyes became soft and stepped closer to his daughter. Rey shut off her saber and let it fall to the ground, her shoulders shaking.

“And that is what you want for me? To be consort to someone like Kylo Ren?”

“Careful Rey. You know that he was returned to us. Kylo Ren is gone.”

“You know that isn’t true, otherwise we wouldn’t be having this discussion. He has been like this even before Snoke. I knew it. Master Luke knew it. It was a matter of time before Snoke would get a hold of him.”

Obi-jin placed his hands over her shoulders. His blue eyes sparkled as he tried to project calm through the Force. He felt Rey’s tension giving an inch under his grip.

“Daughter: no one is pure Light, not even Master Luke, not even me. Everyone carries a demon inside. It is in your will to give in or not. Perhaps the pain that Ben carried inside had a deeper reason.”

Obi-Jin’s heart tightened, seeing his daughter distress. He reached and embraced her, tightly.

“You may not be my flesh and bone, but you are my heart and soul. You know how important this is. The Oracle would not say it if it wasn’t.”

Rey leaned against her father’s embrace, holding him tight.

“What does the Oracle know about heart and soul?” she whispered.

 

TWO

Finn had never seen the house so clean and glowing in all the years he had been with Obi-Jin. He counted himself lucky to have been rescued from the grip of Snoke’s minions, but never in his life would he have guessed that he would end up being adopted by a Jedi of the Second Family. Thanks to Obi-Jin, he had been able to learn with the best team of pilots in the Academy, especially Poe Dameron, the main flight instructor. Him and Finn had become good friends and he was excited to see him again. He would arrive with the Skywalker entourage for the commitment ceremony.

Finn’s excitement doubled down as he approached his sister’s room and he heard something smashing inside followed by a string of slurs that would put any pirate to shame. Some of the words he didn’t even knew existed and he arched his eyebrows, surprised to hear them. He adjusted his jacket and knocked.

“Rey? Can I come in?”

There was a silence which he took for a sign of approval. Slowly, he opened the door and took a peek. What he saw was chaos and mayhem. The room was a complete mess, sheets on the floor, nexts to the shards of a glass jar that lay broken. A chair was overturned in front of a vanity mirror. Finn stepped inside and closed the door.

“Someone’s upset.”

Rey emerged from the washing room, adjusting a bandage over her hand. Finn couldn’t help to glare at her. She was wearing a dress! A beautiful, emerald green tunic dress, held by a necklace that sparkled around her collarbone. The sleeves left her shoulders exposed, and the fabric fell over her quite elegantly.

She had arranged her hair in her usual fashion, with the three buns tightly placed, not a single hair out of order. The final touch was an intricate silver mesh piece that fell over her head. She blushed, seeing her brother gawking.

“Please Finn, don’t start” she said, tightening the bandage. He tried to navigate over the confusion to reach her. He took her hand, seeing the bandage already slightly tinged. He covered her hand with his. It felt cold and clammy.

“Nervous?”

“I feel like I am being sacrificed.”

Finn smiled. “Are you sure that it is you that is being sacrificed? What about Ben? ”

Rey scowled and removed her hand. “I am sure he is feeling revolted for being joined with a scavenger. I thought you were on my side.”

“I am sister. But I know what Ben went through in that nest. I was there. I saw what Snoke’s men did to him. Quite honestly, I don’t know how Luke got him out alive.”

Rey felt a pang of guilt. After all, the last time she had seen him he was a cocky boy of sixteen, hellbent in showing her exactly where she stood among the Five Families of Jedis: nowhere. She remembered the look he gave her, the intensity could be cut with a knife. She felt constant judgement under that gaze, and that made her angry.

 _Anger led to the Dark side_ , Master Luke told her. But, being a stubborn child, she didn’t backed down and instead used it to her advantage. She channeled the anger and that made her stand out among the crowd - attracting all sorts of trouble.

What Ben Solo would not do himself, he would send his minions - Hux and Phasma, to torment her in his stead. When they spared in Master Luke’s classes, they would be there, cheering him and teasing her, spiking the feud and making it worse.

She remembered the last time they had been together, before his disappearance.

She was walking down the hall into the direction of the canteen when he suddenly materialized from the shadows. He had been watching her the entire time.

_“What do you want?”_

_That same look. The lips set into a rigid line. His awkward body and pointy ears. Everything was strange in him. Rey tried to move passed him, but he blocked her way. A smirk appearing. The sudden rush of anger that enfolded made her act - she tried to push him but he reached for her arm and pushed her against the wall instead._

_She felt scared but couldn’t allow it to show. That was weakness, and she would not give him the satisfaction. Instead, she shot him a venomous look, defiant, and balled her fists, assuming an attack position._

_He came closer, like a big feral animal stalking its prey. Rey tried to shake him off, but only got pinned in result._

_“Why?” he had asked, in that deep, vicious tone of his “You, a scavenger, a nobody?”_

_He was sparse with words, but they would hurt her like nothing could. Her eyes watered immediately, and she blinked the tears back, not wanting to give in. “I have as much right to be here as you. I may not have a Family name, but I would rather be nameless than being related to a...a monster like you.”_

_Rey remembered that he didn't even flinched at those words. Instead, she felt something hit her chest, leaving her gasping for air. She felt a sadness like nothing else and his words, looming over her “Yes, I am.”_

And just like that, he walked away, leaving that menacing threat with her. The next day, the news of Benjamin Solo disappearance spread like wildfire through the Academy, and Rey was ashamed to admit that she had felt relieved.

“Rey? Rey!”

She haven't realized she had been silent the entire time while Finn was talking.

“I am sorry, what?”

“They are waiting”, he announced in a weary tone.

Finn couldn't help to feel equally concerned, like their father. He remembered the torture, the pain, the drilling of anger and fear that Snoke would imprint inside the nests. He had witnessed how Ben’s darkness had been brought to the surface and exploded into a rage that would destroy everything in its path. People had died at his hands.

He frowned, pushing away the thoughts. He would be strong, for her sake.

“I will always be on your side.”

 

THREE

Twilight in Stewjon. Rey was standing next to her brother and father on the dais of the large reception hall. The room was empty, except for a few servants, and Rey thought it appropriate. After all, this was no cause for celebration. Soon, they started to hear the commotion outside the large double doors of the ancient castle and the servants ushered forward, in order to accomodate any need of the guests, as protocol required.

The doors were old and heavy, and the sound they made felt like an ancient god had been summoned into their midst.

“Luke Skywalker, of the First Family, Jedi Master”, someone announced.

Rey saw her former Master enter, and assumed the formal salute position, as it was required by all padawans in front of higher officers.

Luke looked the same, but not to Obi-Jin’s trained eye. Leia’s passing had weighed on him, and there was an anxiety in his face, instead of the resolute frown he always sported.

“Don't look at me like that, you remind me to much of Obi-Wan”

“Master Luke, you are welcomed in my home”

Luke waived his hand, dismissing the formalities and embracing his friend. They look intently at each other and Finn would swear that they were using the Force to communicate. Rey frowned, feeling the shift and the hums of their connection resonating. And then, a sudden low rumble, in the background, like a heartbeat drawing near. She looked at the door, her heart pumping so fast it was ready to explode.

“Benjamin Solo of the First Family, Knight of the Order”, the voice echoed through the hall.

At that moment, the drumming in her ears stopped. She exhaled, the Force stirring inside of her, making her doubt her own feelings.

_Hello, goodbye, truth, lies, with, without_

A black figure materialized at the door. He was wearing an helmet of the Knights of the Order, part of the Galactic Corps, like his grandfather before him. A full formal black attire, completed by the Jedi black cloak made him look like a Dark Emperor from days of old. And, just like that, it did felt like the air had been sucked out of the room.

Rey saw Finn twitch, and his hand came to rest over his blaster, almost absent-mindedly. Rey narrowed her eyes and stepped to the front of the dais, raising her chin. She would not show weakness.

He took that as a sign and began walking down the hall in a awkward, truculent manner. Almost like the person underneath was being forced to move by its own clothes. Rey kept sizing him as an opponent, despite the hum of the Force: she did not remember him being this tall and wide.

Finally, he reached the footsteps of the dais and, looking up, removed the hood of his cloak. He paused for a moment, looking at Rey. Obi-Jin narrowed his eyes and turned to Luke, feeling the Force warping with such speed that he was starting to feel sick to his stomach. Luke nodded and a smile reached his eyes.

 _This will work_.

Suddenly, and before a completely astonished audience, Ben kneeled in front of Rey and the sound of the vocoder echoed through the stone walls.

“I salute the head of the Second Family, and his progeny, Rey Kenobi”

He reached for the metal clasps of his helmet and removed it with a swift, elegant motion, as he stood before her once more.

Inside, Rey was in turmoil. He looked the same, but he wasn’t. It was the same pair of dark eyes, the same cut-through intensity and serious frown. But this face had seen enough carnage and mayhem. He had a scar running from his eyes all the way down to his neck. His skin was battered and stretched.

She was surprised, fearful and angry, all at the same time. She felt the Force singing in her ears, making her heart jump, erratically. Compassion and doubt settled in her heart.

_A sky, a night. The black, the white._

Ben climbed the steps, with all the weight his body imprinted, his eyes never leaving Rey’s until he positioned in front of her, facing her father, brother and his uncle. The helmet was tightly held on his side.

“The honourable Oracle” a voice shouted, breaking the gridlock moment between the group. Everyone turned to see the entrance of Maz Kanata, Jedi Oracle, being escorted by Captain Poe Dameron and Armitage Hux. When Rey saw that shot of red hair and the cocky smile, full with contempt, she felt the anger breaking through, turning into something vicious. She straightened, her hands curling into fists.

“Now, now, young Rey, control that anger.”

Rey looked at the Oracle, surprised. She blinked and stepped back, allowing for Kanata to join them up on the dais. The old woman adjusted her goggles and looked at Ben. A sadness crossed her face at first, followed by resolve. She frowned when her gaze fell over the helmet. “Not even today you leave that behind you”, she mumbled. Rey registered his annoyance: the twitch in his left eye and the tremble in his lip. Other than that, his face was a mask in itself.

Maz turned to Rey and her eyes became instantly softer. “Yes...yes, very good. Like I expected it to be. Comme near, child, I won’t bite” she beckoned her, to which Rey obliged. Maz took Rey’s hand and watched it, intently. Next, she reached for her chin and pulled her close, to better look into the young girl’s eyes.

“Very well. Let us begin.”

Everyone stepped down the dais, except for Rey, Ben and Maz. Finn rushed towards Poe and greeted him fondly. He reached his hand to Hux, who simply looked at the outstretched hand, and then at Finn, like he was looking at an alien. “And hello to you to Armitage” said Finn cheerfully, enjoying the disgust across the man’s face.

Everyone turned to Maz. The sun was coming down, filling the room with an eerie golden light. Obin-jin stepped forward, the scene in front of him resembling a sacrifice of old. He felt Luke's hand on his shoulder.

“Stay calm my friend. I suspect that Snoke is the one to be worried, most of all”, he whispered, looking at Maz and nodding.

The ancient Oracle turned to Ben and nodded at his gloved hands. Ben stood silently, ignoring her request.

“Remove your gloves, _young Solo_ ”, Maz said, annoyed, “unless you prefer that I go by the ancient rituals and demand you to be naked in front of everyone.”

Rey gasped and coughed, a sudden rush of blood to her neck and face. Maz smiled and looked at Ben. There was a tightness to his features - he wasn’t hiding the discomfort he felt in disrobing, even if it was a small piece of clothing like his glove. Still, he finally moved and slid the black leather off, revealing a pair of huge hands, white against black.

The sun rays were now hitting them in full, making Finn wince. Maz started humming low, focusing. The words she was saying were ancient, some Rey recognized from the Jedi texts.

_Good. Evil. Peace. Chaos. Dark. Light._

“I am strong with the Force and the Force is with me” Rey mumbled, under her breath, feeling something churning inside of her, making her speak those words. She looked at Ben and took a sharp breath. His eyes were trembling, she could see them shining, brimming with tears that he was fighting to hold back. His lips were shut tightly and his nostrils flaring.

Maz stopped and opened her arms, pointing at their hands and motioning them to join. Rey felt the wind rushing into the room, her skin prickle. The drum in her ears was louder, beating in unison with her heart - it felt like she was standing on the edge of a great precipice, looking into the dark, and every fiber of her body was telling her to jump.

She saw her hand extending, palm up, and stretching it towards him. She waited for his response, not knowing why she was willing to put the past behind her. Right now, he looked 16 again, that look of menacing panic. Maz hummed and her hands closed into fists. Rey could feel the change in the air, the light fading. She saw a shadow, rising behind him; she opened her hand.

“Don’t be afraid. I feel it too.”

He blinked, a single tear running down over that scar. His hand hovered slowly over hers until, finally, their fingers touched. Her eyes widened, as she was invaded by a blinding light and then darkness - deep and pulling. Herself in dark and cold water, and Ben, reaching and holding her, like two ghosts dancing in a black ocean.

 _A push, a pull_.

An island. A thunder, red and blue. She felt her insides coil, something liquid settling between her legs. She felt her breasts becoming heavy, her niples prickling. Someone laughing over her, a deep, menacing laugh that rolled over her body.

_Dark._

Suddenly, there was a loud bang and she startled, removing her hand. Maz had clapped her hands, the sound echoing in the walls with a crash. Rey was shivering, cold and hot at the same time.

“Obi-Jin, grab your daughter - this one was rough.”

Obin-Jin rushed up the stairs and helped her to stable herself. She was mumbling.

“What? What is it?”

Rey looked at Ben, who was obviously shaken. Whatever he saw, had also made him nervous. He was sweating and there was a slight rubour to his cheeks. Rey wondered if he had felt that strange mix of fear and desire.

“The Dark” Rey whispered “It's here.”

 

FOUR

The afternoon had turned into a warm night. Everyone had been invited to a small gathering for much needed nourishment.

To navigate without a High Commander was difficult: everyone turned to Luke, but he knew that he wasn't the person for the job. He looked to the balcony above, where Rey was watching the group.

“She will bring Ben to the Light. It’s what he needs.”

Obin-Jin raised an eyebrow at the comment. He didn't like the tone Luke implied with that sentence. It almost sounded like Rey was the means to an end and so could be put away once Benjamin made a stronger connection to the Light - and lead.

Luke looked at Obin-Jin, noticing the tension.

“What is it?”

“Don’t you think that is far too much pressure to place in someone so young? What if it's the other way round?“

Luke sipped his drink and Obi-Jin noticed a tiny deflection in the Force, enough for him to register the Jedi Master did not like his question. He finished the drink and smiled at his friend “The Oracle is never wrong.”

“Yes, but _you_ may be wrong Skywalker” said Maz, approaching. Luke turned around, surprised.

“You said--”

“I know what I said” her voice clipped and flat, no longer amused or serene. “Obin-Jin is correct. You assume too much and you demand too much. Enough with the high expectations - that has been a problem with you since your awakening. Things may not go the way you want.”

She turned to Obi-Jin, seeing the concerned look on his face. He was realizing that they may have done something hasted, on the sake of some misinterpreted reading of the Force.

“I feel your concern, and I commend you for it. She is your heart and soul.”

Maz raised her hand to quiet him.”The Force whispers. I just so happen to hear it. And what I hear is this: deep are the dark paths that lead onto light.”   

\---

Rey was watching Finn and Poe laughing and sipping a drink. She smiled - it wasn’t that often they had visitors and she could understand her brother’s excitement. Her gaze moved on to her father, Luke and Maz: they were having some sort of discussion and they would look at her from time to time. She felt exposed under those stares and turned to the opposite end: it was worse. Armitage was leaning to one of the columns, looking straight at her with that look half smug, half disdain that made her blood boil at the Academy.

“He always did that”, a deep voice hummed behind her. She startled, and turned around. Ben was standing before her, in a very military posture. The cape and the helmet were nowhere in sight. She could tell that he had combed his hair and straightened his uniform. She blushed slightly and moved away, trying to avoid his gaze.

“Y--yes. He was always like that. Him and Phasma.”

Ben snorted. “Phasma deserted the Academy, not soon after I returned. Presumably to serve under Snoke.”

Rey faced him, surprised, and was faced with his silence. It was the first time they had been this close since that last moment, when he had told her that he was a monster. He swallowed, like there was something on the very edge of being said, but something was keeping him from saying it.

“Well, I shouldn’t be surprised. I wonder why Armitage did not follow her? After all, they both made life miserable for anyone at the Academy, me inclu--” she stopped, abruptly, upon realizing that both Hux and Phasma usually only wanted to please Benjamin Solo, the mighty first son of the First Family. Her eyes turned immediately to steel. Ben reacted as if he had been punched.

“They thought I would favour them. The reality was that I couldn't care less about them. I should have stopped it” he hesitated, closing his eyes, and shaking. She noticed the hum and vibration in the Force, pumping inside her ear drum. “I was expected to do a lot of things”, he managed to say in a bitter tone.

Rey felt his resentment and couldn't help to relate to it. She had constantly tried to better herself, to shake away the scavenger label, but it was always there with her. And it pained her. She felt a change of subject was in order.

“But now, look at you! Knight!” she paused, considering the future that until a week ago was all she could think of. “Now you can make things right. ”

He stepped closer to her, and she could smell the lotion that he had used on his hands, now bare. Her heart jumped.

“You were always a mystery to me. Like a puzzle that I couldn’t solve” he whispered. Rey saw him slowly reaching for her hands and taking them into his own. She felt a jolt from the connection, the images in her head only shadows now, making her legs numb and the Force pounding inside her chest.

She wasn’t ready for this, so she forced the words out.

“I still remember how you made me feel: a nobody. That is what you called me, remember?”

She thought that would be enough to stop him; but what came through was confusion, and then his face hardened. She felt that shadow crawling around them, like he was pushing her against the wall again. She wanted to leave, but couldn’t: her body would not let her.

_The prince, the fool._

“You are a nobody. But not to me.”

She felt his fingers dig deep into her arms and before she could protest, his lips were over her, his tongue pushing deep and wrapping with hers. There was a jolt and both their bodies vibrated, like magnets. Rey felt a Dark corner in her soul spreading, filling her, making her weightless and slippery. She wanted to give in, but at the same time did not.

It was with reluctance that he conceded to her increasingly harsh attempts to push him away. She took a step back, her lips swollen and red, her breath erratic - as his. Yes, there was something there, something deep within her that answered to him. And she was afraid of it.

“Ever since I saw you, I’ve wanted this. But you are holding on to the past!”, he exploded in anger. Rey felt something in the back of her mind, something that hadn’t been there a moment ago. He calmed down, closing his eyes and raking his hair with his large hands.

“Since my mother...passed away I have been having these dreams. Maz told me they are the Force speaking to me. Of things to come.”

Rey felt the lust inside of her being replaced by something cold. The Force was speaking to her too. And it sounded like a warning.

“You are mine, Rey Kenobi. And together, we will rule over the Five Families.”

Something dropped. Disappointment was not enough to describe the pain she felt. She smiled tightly, half closing her eyes.

“You’re still a monster after all.”

He jumped forward, determined to hold her down, but she was quicker, lowering and throwing a Teras Kasi movement that hit him full in the chest. Ben huffed and his knees buckled to the ground. She stood for a moment, watching as he raised his face to her, unable to speak from the pain, but his deep, dark eyes filling her with anger and longing.

The Force was quiet. The drumming gone.

She turned around and left.

 

FIVE

Her heart was racing as Rey pushed the clothes deep into her backpack. She had heard of legions in the deep uncharted sectors, where she could be trained and then put to work in mercenary squads who were hired to wipe out syndicate nests. For good people or bad, she did not care. The only thing she wanted to do was to be able to serve, return the caring that Obi-Jin and the Second Family had given her. She stopped for a moment and sobbed, placing her hand over her mouth so no one would hear her.

After a minute or two, she angrily wiped the tears away, and moved to the dresser where she placed a holo for Finn and her father, before slipping away into the night.

She took a good look around her room. She looked at the mirror, where her green dress was hanged and thought of Ben. She sighed deeply, battling with the thought of leaving him a message as well. Despite everything, she had felt the connection promised by the Oracle, and for a moment she was willing to try - but that all came apart with his words. She would not be used in that way.

Her ship was stationed outside, by the hangar. She passed by Ben’s ship and couldn’t help to marvel at its design. She slid her hand through the silky cover like material - the latest in concealment tech, which made the ship shine under the twin moons. After a pause, she adjusted her backpack and moved to her ship.

The clicks and the hums were already familiar to her. She placed the backpack on the passenger’s seat and pressed her card in. The control board came alive.

“Welcome, Rey Kenobi.” it chimed. Rey smiled and looked at the house, down the small meadow. There was a window alight in one of the guest rooms and she shivered. It would be better to go before someone sounded the alarm. Rey pressed the access codes and punched the coordinates; she would enter light speed as soon as she was out of Stewjon’s atmosphere.

She grabbed the controls and pressed the button to fire up the engines, but she was met with a red flashing sign. “What the…?” she went to the monitor and checked the report. Something was jammed in the exhaust vent, outside.”Damn, better hurry” she mumbled, looking worriedly at the light shining at the house.

She came around the ship to look at the exhaust vents.Yes, there was something jammed inside one of the flaps, but she couldn’t make out what it was. She stretched, trying to reach inside.

“Want some help?” a voice echoed behind her. She turned around, startled, in time to see a flash of red hair. She instinctively assumed her attack position, only then remembering she had left her lightsaber in her backpack.

“What do you want, snake?”

“Is that how you treat your guests? You can’t take the scavenger out of the girl, can you?”

“I will show you who is the scavenger”, she said, preparing to attack him, until she felt someone grabbing her from behind into a massive hold. Before she could use the Force, she felt something cover her nose and mouth, and she recognized the sharp scent. Before she blacked out, she could hear them, in the distance.

“Phasma, tell Lord Snoke this is a gift.”

\----

“Wake up” the voice said.

Rey frowned, feeling her eyes crusty and her muscles sore. She was lying on a cold obsidian metalite floor. Directly above, a white light shone over her, so strong that she couldn’t see beyond it. The air was stale and dry, like in a cave.

Suddenly, she remembered Hux and Phasma. Quickly, she got up, hands raised, to be met with a dark laughter. Her body reacted, remembering her vision.

“Ben?” she ventured, trying to see who it was beyond the light.

“Soon, now that you are here” the voice said, dragged and vicious.

The light shut with a loud noise and a sick yellow glow emerged from the corners of the room. She blinked, adjusting her vision, until her gaze fell over the figures against the wall.

Two were dressed in a mix of leather, plate and rags, standing in both corners. Their masks reminded her of Ben but as soon as her eyes fell over their blades she knew who they were: teras kasi warriors.

Her eyes moved to the third figure, in the center. He was dressed with black robes that made him look even taller. He was bald, and his face was a concoction of revolting scars and scabs. His skin was a white grey, no doubt for all the time he spent underground, from one nest to the other. And although his eyes seemed small and beady for his size, Rey could feel all the malevolence simmering behind.

“What do you want from me? I have nothing to give you.”

“Oh but you have. Soon you will see things clearly.”

“You are wrong. We will destroy you.”

Snoke chuckled viciously. She shivered - it was like she was staring at that black sea again and she wanted to jump and embrace that darkness. Obi-Jin was right: her demon was speaking.

“You are a rogue, born outside the Families. All this time you thought of hunting me, when in fact you wanted to come home. This is your true calling.”

“NO! You are lying! Master Luke and my father have snuffed you out many times. They will do so again.”

A flick of the hand and both warriors came to life, charging towards her, blades drawn. She had nothing to defend herself with. Her blood was boiling inside. She screamed and projected a blow so hard to the first warrior that they could hear his knees crack. He fell, releasing the weapon that was immediately caught by Rey, who twisted it in her hand, finding a comfortable position.

The second warrior charged, swiping the air with elegant strokes. She charged and the blades clinked and clamored. He was able to angle and slide the blade along her own, cutting her shoulder. She screamed, stepping back.

But just as he charged again, Rey felt her body temperature surge, like she was on fire. She felt the Dark sipping through her, making her forget the pain. She looked at the charging fighter. Aimed. Two steps forward, curve, snatch. A spray of blood fell over her and he came down with a loud thud.

She felt her windpipe constrict and her feet being raised from the ground. A despair gripped her inside, feeling the air leaving her body, the drumming of the Force becoming louder. She felt the seed of doubt being planted in her heart. The vision of the black sea, of her and Ben, together, wrapped in Darkness.

“You are starting to understand. Two parts opposing, one part whole.”

She looked at the ceiling above, there were black spots swimming on it. Snoke’s voice was fading into the background.

“You will give me everything” he whispered, “and we will conquer all.”

Rey’s eyes snapped open, a thunder clapping inside her ears. There was a small opening of the pressure on her neck and it was just enough for her to direct the Force towards Snoke, who was taken by surprise. She dropped to the floor and immediately tried to get up, her legs wobbling under her.

“You will have nothing from me”

She saw him sneer in disgust, his hand rising for yet another attack, but she wasn’t going down without a fight. He rammed her with an intensity that Rey thought her bones would crack under the pressure. She focused, feeling her nails digging into her palms, the blood starting to drip to the floor. The Force was pumping in her head, the wall she had put up would not hold much longer.

Snoke took one step forward, his hand shaking from the effort. A rumble began to echo through the walls, the floor vibrating. Snoke yelled and Rey screamed into oblivion.

  


SIX

Rey woke up inside the pit. She looked up, to the tiny window high above, from where light would trickle down, barely reaching her. It was late afternoon.

She looked at the metalite wall in front and stumbled towards it, her chin swollen and back  hurting. She squatted by her food bowl - a mix of greyish protein delivered every midday - and dipped her finger. She got up and traced a line, next to the others: some had dried and flaked away.

 _Fifteen_.

Fifteen days of fighting. Of breaking. Of torture. Rey could feel her limbs heavy and pulsing. Everytime she went before Snoke’s minions, it would evolve into a bloodbath and end with him spreading his fingers into her soul. She felt violated, unlocking doors that had been hidden for years. The feelings that came out shamed her. And among those feelings, the anger made her stronger.

She let herself slide to the floor, defeated. She was starting to want the fights, beatings and torture. Just so that she could feel something again. So it could all be over soon.

_I am slipping into the Dark Side._

In that moment, she thought of Ben. That this had been his plight as well. She was too tired to cry, staring blankly at the door, waiting for the guard. Soon there were footsteps and Rey stood up, clutching the wall, standing gingerly before going out the door.

She stared at the guard’s feet as they moved down the corridor, passing other guards and other cells. Someone was shouting in pain. A door opened on her left and what she saw made her gag and she forced herself to continue looking straight. The guard continued to move until he took a right turn, to a descending hallway. It was a different route.

At one point, she stopped seeing other guards or cells. They were alone, and a question jolted in her mind. Suddenly, the sound of the footsteps were muffled by the familiar drumming of the Force. Not the angry jabs that she heard while slashing throats; but the same heartbeat that she had felt in that late afternoon, when their hands touched.

Through the weariness and hurt, that drum felt like a fire being raised from ashes. Slowly, she placed her hand on the guard’s back. He stopped. Turned. The red glow flashed before she saw the lightsaber in his hand. She looked up: he had removed the helmet and she found herself staring into his deep, dark eyes.

“We can’t hide for much longer, the Force is connecting us...he will come.”

A siren began echoing down the halls. Ben dropped the mask to the floor and grabbed Rey’s hand. She flinched, the wounds and sores still raw.

“Can you run?”

Rey couldn’t talk. She just went past him and began a light trot down. Ben was frozen by her courage, seeing her clothes torn and shredded almost into rags. Seeing the dried blood that covered them and the blood dripping down a gash that crossed her back. He looked back and considered for a moment to find Snoke in that labyrinth, and kill him.

Rey continued stumbling down the corridor which led to the docking station and Ben ran to her.

“Lean on me. Quick.”

They reached the dock just in time, as Finn and Poe blasted at a group of incoming guards.

“Ben! Rey! Get into the speeder, quick!”

Rey’s speeder was across the hall, the door open and welcoming. They began the dangerous cross, covered by the blaster fire. The shouts, the smell of burned plastoid and the fire made Rey jittery. The drumming of the Force subsided, she felt the Dark pushing through and in an impulse she reached for Ben’s lightsaber and kicked him to the ground.

It seemed like time had frozen. Ben turned and looked at her; she no longer looked passive and defeated, but with eyes alight like fire and teeth bare, like some kind of animal. Instinct kicked in and he moved to a Force hold, just as she turned her back on him and ran into the group of guards huddled behind a crate.

Ben shouted, but she could no longer hear him. The only thing that she could hear were the screams of the guards, as she rammed them against the wall, the lightsaber ripping the air, flesh and bone, one by one until none left standing. The blood was pumping wildly as she stood among the bodies, herself covered in blood, panting and relishing in the darkness unleashed.

She turned around and her eyes fell over her brother and Poe, who watched in horror. Ben was silent, his face a mix of pride and misery. She felt the lightsaber slipping her bloodied hand before her legs failed beneath her.

\----

The sound of waves breaking. The smell of salt and damp.

She woke up on a stretcher made of straw and wool. A fire was burning in a small stone pit in the center. Her lips felt dry and cracking. She licked them and tasted dry blood. Slowly, she pushed her covers aside and got up. Her arms were filled with bruises and cuts, her clothes were stiff and tainted red.

Her eyes fell over her backpack and her lightsaber peeking through the open flap. She got up, fighting to ignore the pain that shot up her back and the screaming of her leg muscles. She reached for the lightsaber and clutched it closely to her chest and sighed.

There was some food on top of a table in one corner: dried fish, some nuts and a jug with a green beverage. She sniffed it and drank; it had an odd, salty taste, like fish broth. She drank it all in one gulp, and hate until satisfied.

There was a knock at the door and she took a few steps back, considering firing up the lightsaber.

“Rey? I am coming in.”

Immediately her heart jumped. It wasn’t a dream then. It really was Ben Solo opening the door and standing in front of her. He was dressed in his usual black attire and was carrying a bundle of clothes, which he promptly dropped in a corner of the hut.

“Where are we?” she whispered. Her head was pounding, her heartbeat beginning to quicken. _He wants to use you, like Snoke. He wants to rule._

Ben took a deep breath and stood by the door, letting her pass and see. As soon as she was outside she was hit with a wave of moist and sea salt. The sky was steel grey, contrasting with the blackness of the rock and the green of the lichens and moss that covered the mountains. There were four more small huts, disposed in a circle. One for each of the Families.

“It’s Ach-Too” he answered “We’ll wait here, until it's safe.”

She was getting dizzy again; there was something wrong with the place. The Force was drumming, but she also felt the Dark spreading in her belly. It was making her nauseous and she needed to walk the feeling away.

There was a path going down into the ridge and she took it. Ben clenched his fists, feeling the shift in the Force. He knew where that path lead. He had been there before. He took a deep breath and decided to follow her.

“We should go back.”

“I am sick of people telling me where to go, what to be. Leave me alone!” she barked, her voice raw from not being used for so long. She doubled her steps and tried to distance herself from him, feeling the familiar prickle in her fingers, hitching to hold her lightsaber. _Kill him! Kill him now!_

“Get away from me Ben”

“You want to kill me, I know”

She stopped, looking over her shoulder. He had kept his distance, and Rey could see he was holding his lightsaber behind his back, the other hand stretched, palm raised.

“I was you. My mother, she brought me here to heal. Let me help you.”

“Help me?” she smiled with contempt “You just want to use me for your own devices. Rule over the Five Families, remember?”

Ben pursed his lips and tried to control himself. “I was...misguided. It’s a very powerful thing, the Dark side. Once it holds you, it never lets go completely.” He straightened, opening his fingers to her, his look serious. “Let me help you, Rey. We have to go up, towards the Light.”

_Kill him. He is a liar._

“Shut up! Shut up!” she sneered, hitting her head with her hands, tears welling up around her eyes. She wanted to take his hand, she wanted to. But to her horror, she saw her hand traveling up and then towards her lightsaber and igniting it. As the sound of thunder was heard in the distance, she felt that vicious flow of power surging through her, just like Snoke’s fingers, taking her mind and making her a savage once more.

“Die Skywalker”

She directed a blow at his chest that made him stumble and it was only luck that made him raise his lightsaber just as she came over him, screaming like an animal. The sabers clashed with an electric clamour, like the thunderstorm above them, blue and red. He snarled and regained his position, holding the hilt with both hands.

“Let me guide you!”

“Never!” she shouted over the noise, pushing him back and quickly dropping one knee and rotating her leg, making him trip and fall back. She rotated the lightsaber down, but Ben was quicker, swerving to the side and going for a Force hold. She was able to avert it, but slipped and her lightsaber fell, tumbling down the path, into the middle of the rocks.

Ben looked at her, eyes wide in alert. He swallowed the lump in his throat and raised her hand “No, don’t go there!”

Too late, she was already running down the path and into the crevice, trying to snatch the lightsaber. She pushed between jabbing rocks, feeling the tattered clothes being ripped away, the blood flowing again from reopened wounds. The Dark was speaking louder.

She came to a rising slab of black rock, facing the stormy sea. The wind was blowing hard and her skin crawled. Her eyes were fixed on the whole in the center, covered in seaweed. _Just like my dream_ , she thought. She could see her lightsaber, nestled between the plants covering the edge. Another wave and it would be carried away.

She summoned the saber, but it wouldn’t budge. She stepped closer to the whole and kneeled, stretching her hand, her fingers barely skimming the hilt.

 _Rey_  

She looked into the depth of the pitch black whole, and heard the sea rushing inside. Black and cold, gushing against her face. It was if all her despair, hatred and anguish were calling her inside. She felt alone, abandoned, with Snoke’s fingers running down her back and the disgusting thrilling of that power.

“Rey! Don’t do it!” Ben called in the distance.

Upon hearing his voice, the drumming of the Force beat louder and she felt something tearing inside, a gush of water invading her as she was pushed into the deep.

She fell into the cold, dark water. Like shards of glass biting her body, ice grappling her limbs. At first, she fought to come up, but couldn’t. Something was pulling her down and a numbness settled in. Soon, she just stopped and felt at peace, the regret and turmoil subsiding, like the voices in her head.

There was movement above and she looked up. Between the floating rags, she could see the arms of a monster breaking through; it was the Dark coming to claim her, wrapped in black, eyes like diamonds. She opened her arms and welcomed him.

 

SEVEN

It was freezing cold. The wind was howling around them, as the storm raged on. It was a terrible fight to pull her out of the water and recover her saber. For a while, he also thought that he would succumb to those terrible voices shouting from the deep, where he had buried them long ago.

They would always be there, shouting stronger in times where he doubted. Like inside the nest, where the scent of sweat and the cries had brought back those terrible memories of torture and blood. Again, when staring at that black void of seaweed and foam. But he had been tested, and he had succeeded. All because of her.

He looked down. She was pale, lips of deep purple. He could feel her heartbeat hanging on by a thread. He rushed up the path, carrying her in his arms and the load seemed less heavy at each step. He had to save her, he had to; otherwise, he would be lost.

He kicked the door of the hut open and placed her on the cot, wrapping her in the covers. He turned back and shut the door and windows, and then turned to the fire, stoking it and dropping another log. Finally, he placed a kettle of water near the embers; his hands were shaking.

He went over beside her bed. Her breathing was shallow and her skin was ivory white and lips still tinged blue. He reached for her hand: it was as cold as ice, her fingernails purple. He closed his eyes, trying to reach her through the Force and the bond they shared. Her heartbeat was slowing down still.

“Right” he whispered. He started to undress her, which was an easy task given that her clothes were completely torn apart.He blushed slightly upon removing her breast band and pants, but it was only for a moment, since listening her heart slipping away was more frightening than preserving modesty.

He covered her with the blanket before beginning to take off his own clothes.That wasn’t the way he imagined sharing a bed with her for the first time. He placed his clothes on the chair to dry, and slowly moved into the bed beside her, wrapping himself around her body.

It was like holding a block of ice. He nestled in, rubbing her arms to massage some warmth into her, but the minutes passed and she was still stone cold. And he was running out of ideas. He looked at the base of her neck and remembered how his mother used to warm him when he had trouble sleeping because of nightmares. He pressed his lips on that spot and blew hot breath for what seemed like hours.

The storm outside kept howling with fury. He nestled Rey closer, as if he alone could shield her from the anger that surrounded them. It was just them against the world, as the Oracle predicted. He closed his eyes, listening for her heartbeat and smiled: it was stronger and her lips were no longer blue. He sighed: at last, some rest.

\----

Rey opened her eyes slowly, and for a moment she thought it had all been a dream and she was back on her bed, on Stewjon. She looked at the fire pit and the kettle hissing gently and frowned, remembering. She should have died, the cold would have killed her and release her if it wasn’t for him.

“Ben”

It was then she realized she wasn’t alone on the bed. His arm was lazely resting over her hip and she felt the slow, sleeping, cadence of his chest on her back.

She blushed, realizing they were both naked, his massive body around her pleasant and inviting. She turned around carefully not to disturb his sleep.

His raven black mane had bits of seaweed. A lock of hair fell over his nose and he scrunched it, followed by a deep breath. Slowly, she pushed the stubborn lock behind his ears which pointed out awkwardly.

Rey smiled. He had always been so self conscious of those ears, using his hair long to hide them. She could not resist to reach out and trace them with eyes and fingers.

Around the lobe. Down his chin. Over his lips. Treading his scar.

His eyes opened. Her fingers paused over his brow, her eyes fixed on his, before continuing their path over his temple. She couldn't speak, the emotions churning in her chest, her legs wet and her face flushed. The Force vibrated through both their minds. She felt like a caged animal wanting to be free. So alike to Darkness. And his eyes mirrored her sentiment, unable to speak what was already fact.

_A sky, a night, the black, the white_

A voracious desire erupted. She fisted his hair and claimed his mouth with ferocity, to which he answered in equal measure. He let out a rumbling moan, feeling her mouth wet and wanting. His large hands went for her hips as he tried to roll over her, but she pushed him down violently.

Ben was breathless, his hands open, defeated. He was transfixed by the creature that now moved over him, hair disheveled, and eyes on fire, like a goddess from the deep. He felt her slickness as she straddled him, and he closed his eyes, abandoning himself to the shockwaves of pleasure that traveled down his spine.

Her hands moved with urgency, grabbing his sex and welcoming it with ease, sliding in one smooth but strong thrust. Her eyes closed and she tilted her head back, as the Force dissolved into a warm euphoria that spread through both their bodies like a wave spreading over a shore.

Rey gasped as he suddenly sat and grabbed her behind, pushing her with controlled anger, burying himself completely into her, his lips, his tongue tasting her breast.

The covers were gone, the heat mounting at each throbbing push, at each trembling pull, in a frenzy materialized into short breaths and growls,  gnashing teeth and nails clawing.

They were no longer themselves. No longer in control. The Force was driving them, urging them on, to settle scores and move to the unity their bodies demanded.

Rey could feel the pressure mounting in her core, the anxiety of their joining becoming frantic. He pushed her down and continued to thrust relentlessly, and Rey cried in ecstasy, feeling that friction, hard, against her.

The air was charged with power, the thunderstorm roaring above them, as they felt Darkness joining with Light, both shouting their orgasm into the sky, like an offering to the Force.

Rey would never forget that sound.

\----

Ben looked at the decrepit three pronged tree, like a trident pointing at the blue sky. Years ago, he had stood at that very spot, when her mother told him it was time to go home, back to where he belonged.

“Such are the rules, my son” she had said “You have a duty to the Family and to the Force. You must overcome this and return, to lead after I am gone.”

At the time, he was convinced of his destiny; that what Snoke had done, what he had tapped into, was but a weakness to bury. He had been wrong.

Rey emerged from inside the tree and stopped, enjoying the morning sun before walking down the path towards him. She was the same, but she wasn’t at the same time - he could tell by the way she moved, the way the looked at things, at him.

“What now?” she asked.

“I am waiting for Finn to send us a signal” he said, showing the com on his wrist.

“That is not what I asked.”

He chuckled, throwing a rock he had been playing with while waiting. They watched it as it tumbled down the path that led to the dark hole. Ben pursed his lips, considering.

“My mother and uncle would say, follow the rules, come home, lead”

It was Rey’s turn to smile - the same smile, but different - as she looked towards the spot where the rock had fallen.

“And what would you say, Ben Solo?”

Ben was surprised by the question. Given what he knew of her, of her devotion to Obi-Jin and Finn, he would expect her to talk him into accepting that fate. The next words came out like a deliverance, a torrent unable to be contained.

“I say we make our own rules. The Force did not choose us, we chose each other.”

He raised his hand, inviting her to take it. She looked at it and remember that jolt and the vision she had back on Stewjon.

“When you touched my hand...you saw our future?”

Ben smiled.

“I think you already know the answer.”

  


THE END

 

**Author's Note:**

> My sincere thanks to my friends at Reylo Fic Recs, which have supported my writing through a very turbulous time. Also, a special thank you to D. Baron, who made a wonderfull moodboard to go with the story.
> 
> As always, I would love to hear your feedback on this story. It is the fuel that keeps the fire burning. Thank you!


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